


Certainty

by Inkyrius



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Character Study, Descent into Madness, Gen, Psychological Horror, ToT: Monster Mash, Trick or Treat: Trick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-22 19:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12488780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkyrius/pseuds/Inkyrius
Summary: Meredith is doing what's best, for the mages and for Kirkwall. She just needs to make everyone see it.





	Certainty

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AceQueenKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/gifts).



The life of a Knight-Commander leaves room for few luxuries, and Meredith permits herself few even of those. She refuses to let herself soften. She will not allow innocent people to suffer under magic’s heel because she has a moment of weakness.

And yet, on the twentieth anniversary of her ascension to Knight-Commander, she finds herself wavering. She stares at her sword. What would Ser Wentworth think of all that’s happened since he gave it to her? It’s true that Kirkwall has never been the most stable of cities, but these past years have been particularly precarious. Meredith’s had to tighten her grip time and again, just to maintain order. This sword has become a symbol of the Chantry’s justice throughout the city.

And that is why neither it nor she cannot soften. She will reforge the blade, and with it her resolve.

She’s scarcely decided before she hears of a dwarf selling a glowing red idol, made of pure lyrium. It’s practically a sign from the Maker Himself. She buys the idol and has her sword remade before the week is out.

With it in hand, nothing will be able to stand against her. She will do whatever it takes to keep Kirkwall safe.

 

* * *

 

She can scarcely believe it. The city going up in flames before their eyes, and still Orsino feels the need to challenge her authority. The arrogance of mages never ceases to astonish her.

She has to waste precious time convincing him to obey, time she doesn’t have. Hawke manages to intervene, but if it weren’t for her, the Qunari might have overrun Kirkwall altogether. Meredith can’t help but wonder if that had been Orsino’s goal all along. She’s heard Qunari mages have even less freedom, though, and she can’t quite imagine Orsino sabotaging himself like that.

In the end, his motivations don’t matter. She’s the one who failed to protect the city. If only she’d been stricter with the mages, made them see that everything she did was for their own good as well as the good of Kirkwall, maybe things would have been different. She’s learned from her mistakes.

It’s a cold comfort, with the city in ruins and a foreign nuisance for a Champion. For some unfathomable reason, though, Hawke has built up a following, and there’s enough turmoil without antagonizing a significant segment of the population. Meredith hosts the ceremony, a joyous occasion to lift the people’s spirits, and spends the whole thing gritting her teeth and thinking about all the work she still needs to do.

Because while Hawke may be Champion, Kirkwall is still Meredith’s city.

 

* * *

 

The months after the invasion are exhausting. Meredith is constantly enacting reforms and edicts to smoke out traitors and blood mages. Still, there are whispers in the Gallows. She orders the templars to report to her if a mage so much as says the word blood. She must remain on guard at all times.

There are complaints, at first, but they’re swiftly silenced. Mages with nothing to hide have nothing to fear. Until the infestation is dealt with, she can’t be too cautious.

Placing the city under martial law is the next logical decision. The last thing she needs is a viscount getting in the way of her plans. She doesn’t have time to figure out who she can trust right now, so it’s better to trust no one at all. She alone can save Kirkwall and its citizens.

All she requires is absolute compliance. Surely that’s not too much to ask.

 

* * *

 

Everywhere she turns, she sees blood mages. She strikes one down only for too more to take its place. They’re too cunning to reveal themselves outright, but she knows. They can’t escape her.

It’s not even just the mages. They couldn’t have come this far without help. It’s clear to her now that some of her templars have been corrupted. Even the townspeople are collaborators now. It’s the only explanation for the spreading sickness. Traitors everywhere, and Meredith is only one woman. She can only do so much.

There’s only one way for her to solve the problem once and for all. She doesn’t know why she didn’t think of it earlier. She will have to burn the Gallows to the ground, with all the traitors and abominations and filth inside. She just has to send word to the Divine. When she hears about the state of things, Meredith will not only have the Right of Annulment, she’ll be praised for taking decisive action. Then everyone will see.

She just has to wait a little longer. She can keep things under control until she receives a response. It will be over soon enough.

 

* * *

 

The Chantry is in flames. Elthina is dead. It’s all the mages’ fault.

Meredith has had enough. She’s done waiting. It’s time to take matters into her own hands.

She draws her sword. Certainty is singing its approval. At last, she’ll make things right.

 


End file.
